Category: Strength Training

Strength Training Basics

Strength training basics for beginners, powerlifters, and athletes! Learn how to get stronger and build muscle for powerlifting, bodybuilding, weight lifting, and all strength sports! It’s time to get stronger!

If you want to learn how to do even more of the best strength training exercises (in much greater detail), check out our exercise guide! We teach you only the most effective exercises for building strength and muscle in full detail.

Please leave your comments below! Let us know what you thought about the most exercise important you can do in the gym! Also, tell us what you think is more important, if any! If it is not curls, then what is it?!

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This simple routine has helped me in more ways than I can list, and I know it will help you too!

The main purpose of the Daily 30 is to teach you to stay focused on your own strength, health, and fitness goals by helping you to develop the self-discipline you need to succeed in training and in life.

Just ask yourself…when is the last time you did something every single day for over a year to work towards your goals?

Most people will say never and that is why most people never succeed.

Be different! Be the one that does succeed and tells others how easy it became just by developing a little self-discipline.

I have done the Daily 30 for 1,099 days in a row now (at the time of this post) and I plan to do it every day for the rest of my life.

Whether I was healthy, sore, sick, tired, injured, or just didn’t feel like it, I stuck to my commitment and that is the base of all my success in training and in life.

Just by making that simple commitment to myself I remember to always keep my goals on track no matter how hard things get.

That is why I made The Daily 30! To help people stay committed to their goals every day.

The exercises are simple so anyone can do them and it takes less than 3 minutes to do, allowing no room for excuses.

So, whether it be you or if you know someone that needs something to stick to this coming year, The Daily 30 is exactly what they need!

Think of it as the first step in making a commitment to yourself for a better, stronger and healthier future.

What You Need To Know About Electrolytes!

Electrolytes are an important part of our diets, but if you think that drinking some Coconut water or eating a banana helps cure or prevent cramping, then you need to think again. Here is what you need to know about electrolytes…

There are 4 main electrolytes we will focus on:

Sodium (Na+),

Potassium (K+),

Calcium (Ca++), and

Magnesium (Mg++).

Each electrolyte has a distinct function but they work in unison to create optimal cell performance. If our electrolytes get too far out of balance they can counteract each other and hinder performance.

It is important to keep adequate amounts of electrolytes in the diet, but it is more important to keep them in balance.

Electrolytes are charged particles within the body that maintain proper cell function. One common mistake is that those who regularly exercise believe that they need to constantly replenish their electrolytes due to the loss in sweat.

It is true that these electrolytes are lost through sweat, among other things, but we should keep in mind that our body is smart. Our body wants to hold onto these valuable nutrients as long as it can. With this in mind, our body attempts to retain the electrolytes which are low in the system and releases the ones which are in excess.

Sodium (Na+) is always present in sweat while the other electrolytes are in much lesser amounts. Due to this, water is the only necessary nutrient that needs to be replenished if exercise lasts less than one hour.

Don’t go around thinking that you need a calorie filled sports drink or Coconut Water just because you did some light activity for 30 minutes.

For events lasting longer than one hour, some electrolytes need to be restored. Just avoid overindulging on added sugars while replenishing your electrolytes, unless needed due to your daily energy expenditure. Remember, you don’t need it unless you have been continuously sweating for at least 60 minutes, not including breaks.

Electrolyte Breakdown:

Sodium (Na+)

Sodium (Na+) is an electrolyte that commonly works with potassium (K+).

Its main functions are to:

maintain our body’s fluid balance,

send nerve impulses and

allow for muscle contraction.

These functions are actually what stop cramping! Sodium (Na+) helps our cells to maintain hydration, but, more importantly, it prevents cramping through sending signals to our muscle to turn on and off. When we do not have enough Sodium (Na+), then our muscles cramp as our body turns a muscle on and saves Sodium (Na+) by not sending the signal to turn it off. This creates cramping.

While these are important functions, too much Sodium (Na+) causes high blood pressure, filtering systems dysfunction and potassium (K+) deficiency.

Sodium (Na+) works with potassium (K+) but has the opposite effect. If one gets too high in balance, it will prevent the other nutrient from performing its job.

Sodium (Na+) is a hard nutrient to avoid, being found in salt along with most everything processed. For those that exercise regularly, this is not commonly a concern due to sweat rates and the amount used for muscle contraction. However, those that are sedentary, or who have known heart problems, should avoid excess sodium (Na+) intake due to the increased stress it places on your heart.

Though it should not be banned entirely, sedentary individuals should avoid large amounts by limiting the number of processed foods consumed. Generally, anything edible within a package has some amount of salt, so be smart about your consumption.

Overall, to improve overall performance and health, a greater concern should be placed upon the intake of potassium (K+) relative to sodium (Na+).

Potassium (K+)

Potassium (K+) works with Sodium (Na+) in our cells to maintain an equal charge balance.

Other functions include:

maintaining osmotic pressure within the cell,

blood pressure regulation and

it is necessary for muscle strength and contraction.

Due to the large amounts of sodium (Na+) commonly consumed, and the lack of a proper diet, potassium (K+) is commonly overrun.

To keep your muscles in an optimal state of performance, try to get a good amount of potassium (K+) through your regular diet. Good food sources are avocados, tomatoes, coconut water, dark green vegetables and, of course, bananas.

If you have a low Sodium (Na+) Diet due to health-related issues, then avoid having an excess of Potassium (K+) which will actually cause more issues by throwing off your Sodium-Potassium Electrolyte balance.

Though this is important for our skeletal muscles, it is most important for our heart or cardiac muscles.

Without calcium (Ca++) in the blood being brought to our cardiac muscle cells, they will no longer be able to contract and our heart will stop. This is not very common due to our large calcium (Ca++) stores we call bones but can happen with too much exercise within a short period.

Our body would much rather break down our bone tissue so our heart can work rather than let our heart stop beating even once.

Remember, our bodies are smart. The only thing our bodies care about is survival. With this backup system in place, we do not have to worry much about our heart-stopping. However, if we want to keep our bones strong and increase our muscle contraction ability to become stronger, then we need a good amount of Calcium (Ca++) in our diet.

Note: Calcium (Ca++) intake is most important for women, especially during puberty. This is because women’s ability to absorb Calcium (Ca++) greatly slows post-puberty and nearly stops around age 30. Therefore, women have to consume an entire lifetime worth of Calcium (Ca++) before the age of 30.

*Be careful not to over-consume large amounts all at once.

Magnesium (Mg++)

Magnesium (Mg++) is an electrolyte that is commonly overlooked.

Its common functions are:

as a structural component in our muscle cells,

to help lower blood pressure and

prevent heart arrhythmias or irregular heartbeats.

Also, Magnesium (Mg++) levels help to control the functions of Calcium (Ca++) in the body. If Magnesium (Mg++) is too low, then our Calcium (Ca++) metabolism will not be optimized.

To maintain a healthy heart and be able to gain new muscle cells keep an adequate amount of Magnesium (Mg++) in your diet. Just don’t take Magnesium (Mg++) and Calcium (Ca++) supplements together, as they compete for absorption within the body.

Some good sources are green vegetables, potatoes, nuts, and seeds.

The Bottom Line

Electrolytes are vital for our health but do not believe the new fad drinks that have you loading up on one nutrient without considering the effects it has on the rest of your body.

Know your nutrients, and know your body. Get what you need and not too much of one electrolyte versus another.

Now go salt your bananas, and have some nuts in your milk!

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How Much Caffeine Is Right For You?

Caffeine is an effective tool used to increase performance during intense exercise, and it can even make you stronger!

We all love coffee, don’t we?

Coffee is great, but it has been given a bad reputation by those that do not understand its uses and effects. Let me help out with that…

Caffeine is mainly known to be a heart stimulating drug commonly found in supplements, coffee, soda, and many energy drinks.

Caffeine is a great stimulator, both for the brain and the body. It increases our focus, improves blood flow, and can even make us stronger!

The thing is, it needs to used properly to get these great effects and not overused to where the effects fade until they are nearly useless.

Coffee for Everyone:

It is almost a daily ritual for many people to wake up and then almost immediately consume a cup of coffee to get their day started.

Though this may be common, this is NOT a good practice because it prevents our body’s natural waking systems from functioning properly.

To prevent this negative effect, and improve the effects of caffeine use, allow for at least an hour for your body to naturally awaken before consuming caffeine. This will allow enough time for your body to go through its natural hormone release to prepare your body for the day ahead.

If you are guilty of this daily ritual, like most people, don’t worry, I can help correct it for you!

Simply start by having your morning coffee 10 minutes later than usual on the first day, 20 minutes later on the second, and so on until you have reached an hour or more before you have caffeine upon waking.

If this is too fast for you, you can add 5 minutes per day instead, or increase the time every other day.

You shouldn’t feel any negative symptoms by doing it this way, but if you do, just know that they will go away after a week or so and you will start feeling better than ever soon enough!

It would be more beneficial for you to try drinking 1 Liter (32oz) of water within your first hour upon waking to improve your metabolism and start your day off right!

For those of you that enjoy having coffee throughout the day, make sure that you take time to read the effects of caffeine below and what the safe daily limit is for regular use.

Coffee for the Athlete:

The goal of caffeine being present in an athlete’s diet should be to increase performance. If it is being overused than it will become almost useless as a performance enhancing tool.

So to gain the greatest results from the use of caffeine limit intake to only when it is beneficial, such as just before strength training or a strength-related competition.

By limiting your caffeine intake to only before strength related events, you will greatly increase its effects leading to an overall improved performance.

You will not only feel stronger, you will be stronger!

So don’t ruin the effects by taking too much too often. Use it as an extra tool in your arsenal for when you need to hit a new PR or just improve your performance!

The effects of caffeine include:

Decreased sodium (Na+) re-absorption in the kidneys leading to increased urine output,

Increased heart rate which temporarily raises blood pressure,

Opens up fat cells for the release of stored fats,

Increased pain tolerance,

Improved blood flow,

Hunger suppression,

Increased focus and awareness.

The effects of caffeine last about 5-7 hours so keep at least this much time between consumptions and before you go to bed.

How much Coffee is Best for me?

Taking 1.3-2.7 mg per pound of body weight (3-6 mg/kg of caffeine) per day is believed to be safe for athletes and has the most optimal effect on exercise performance.

However, for most individuals who enjoy using coffee to “wake-up” throughout the day, a safe and effective caffeine limit is to consume no more than 200mg of caffeine (12oz coffee) at one time and no more often than 1-2 times per day.

This is a good amount that will stimulate your system and will likely not cause any overload or negative effects.

For easy reference, a 12oz. cup of coffee has about 200mg of caffeine.

Overall, the less often you use caffeine, the more effective it will be when you need it!

The same principle applies to any supplement you may want to take. You want to get the most out of supplements by taking the least. If you only need a small dose of something or can do without, to get the desired effect, then take only what you need.

Always talk to a qualified physician and someone who has actually taken the supplement you are planning to try before consuming.

Coffee Pro Tip: Different roasts of coffee have different caffeine levels and acidity. Light roast has the most caffeine, with about 100mg per 6oz, and the least acidity while deep or dark roast coffee has the least amount of caffeine, at about 100mg per 8oz, and the highest acidity.

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Disclaimer

The information presented is meant to help guide participants through practices that can help individuals become stronger and healthier through proper use. This information, however, does not promise any benefits when misused or misinterpreted. Please follow the guidelines as directed.

When participating in any exercise or training program there is a possibility of physical injury. If you engage in any movements, exercises or training programs, you agree to do so at your own risk. By voluntarily participating in these activities, you assume all risk of injury to yourself and agree to release and discharge Mathias Method, Ryan J. Mathias and all other affiliates of any responsibility if an injury occurs.

In addition, by following any of the suggested guidelines, protocols, templates, activities or any other information or advice given, you do so at your own risk. Do not begin any nutrition, health, exercise or training program without consulting with a Board Certified Medical Doctor and/or Registered Dietician first.

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